Another Universalism

Martin Jay, author of Splinters in Your Eye: Frankfurt School Provocations:
The accelerating impact of the Frankfurt School around the world owes much to gifted thinkers who demonstrate how a tradition can remain alive and open to the future through creative elaboration. No one exemplifies this process as powerfully as Seyla Benhabib, who has enriched critical theory with insights from feminism, postcolonial studies, democratic and human rights theory, and the writings of Hannah Arendt. As this stimulating collection of essays attests, she is more than a link in a single chain, but rather at the center of an expanding global network of critical thinkers who are grappling with the most urgent issues of our day.

Andreas Huyssen, author of Miniature Metropolis: Literature in an Age of Photography and Film:
This volume pays persuasive tribute to the power of Seyla Benhabib's compelling rethinking of the legacies of critical political theory. Concepts such as dialogical universalism, cosmopolitanism of codependence from below, democratic iterations, jurisgenerative politics and postnational sovereignty characterize her attempt to explore new normative grounds for political theory by thinking with and against Kant and Hegel, Arendt and Habermas in an age of migrations and the threat of new forms of neo-fascism across the world.

Axel Honneth, author of Freedom’s Right: The Social Foundations of Democratic Life:
If there had not been sufficient proof so far of the enormous importance of Seyla Benhabib's political philosophy for understanding our present predicaments, this collection of articles offers it in abundance. Its contributions, ranging from moral psychology over political theory to postcolonial studies and written by eminent scholars within the different fields, discuss from very different perspectives Benhabib's idea that universalism can be situated and decentered by understanding it as a design for the never ending process of including ever more groups in the circle of those whose voices must be heard and respected. This is indispensable reading for everyone interested in contemporary political philosophy.

Nancy Fraser, author of Cannibal Capitalism: How Our System Is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planet—and What We Can Do About It:
These rich and compelling essays testify not only to the breadth and brilliance of Seyla Benhabib's thought but also to her dialogism, mentorship, and influence. A marvelous collection!